Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
07KIGALI388
2007-04-24 15:56:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Embassy Kigali
Cable title:
JOURNALIST PLEADS GUILTY TO DIVISIONISM, RECEIVES
how-toVZCZCXYZ0017 PP RUEHWEB DE RUEHLGB #0388/01 1141556 ZNR UUUUU ZZH P 241556Z APR 07 FM AMEMBASSY KIGALI TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 4065 INFO RUEHJB/AMEMBASSY BUJUMBURA 0047 RUEHDR/AMEMBASSY DAR ES SALAAM 0860 RUEHKM/AMEMBASSY KAMPALA 1584 RUEHKI/AMEMBASSY KINSHASA 0202 RUEHNR/AMEMBASSY NAIROBI 0844 RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 0223
UNCLAS KIGALI 000388
SIPDIS
SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM RW
SUBJECT: JOURNALIST PLEADS GUILTY TO DIVISIONISM, RECEIVES
ONE YEAR JAIL TERM
REF: A. KIGALI 289
B. KIGALI 142
C. KIGALI 49
D. 2006 KIGALI 1223
UNCLAS KIGALI 000388
SIPDIS
SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM RW
SUBJECT: JOURNALIST PLEADS GUILTY TO DIVISIONISM, RECEIVES
ONE YEAR JAIL TERM
REF: A. KIGALI 289
B. KIGALI 142
C. KIGALI 49
D. 2006 KIGALI 1223
1. (SBU) On Friday, April 20, Agnes Nkusi-Uwimana, director
of the Kinyarwanda-language newspaper "Umurabyo," received a
one year jail term in a Kigali court, having on April 3
pleaded guilty to various charges including divisionism,
defamation, and passing a bad check. Nkusi had been arrested
in January for the publication of two articles, one in
December which most observers believed minimized the 1994
genocide, and another on January 1st which castigated Rwandan
officials in explicit ethnic terms, drawing charges of
divisionism. The December 2006 article essentially equated
1994 killings by the Hutu extremist Interahamwe militia with
RPA revenge killings that occurred during its liberation of
the country -- "It would be difficult to differentiate a Hutu
Interahamwe from a Tutsi Interahamwe," read one subtitle.
The January article, an open letter to the public,
categorized senior government officials in derogatory ethnic
terms, calling particular Hutu and Tutsi officials "dogs" and
"prostitutes" (reftel C).
2. (SBU) Prominent independent journalists had encouraged an
apology and retraction by Nkusi regarding her December
article. Although agreeing initially to this course of
action, she then published the January "open letter,"
resulting in her arrest. Upon advice of counsel, she
subsequently pleaded guilty to all charges against her (note:
the bad check charge stemmed from her borrowing of funds to
start her publication, and then writing bad checks when the
loans came due).
3. (SBU) Embassy staff met with Nkusi's attorney April 24 to
discuss the case. The attorney confirmed her guilty plea
upon his recommendation -- in his view she faced five years
minimum prison time, with little prospect of a successful
defense, if she had decided to try the case in court. He had
urged a one year suspended sentence, but the court imposed
one year in jail. The lawyer acknowledged that he had not
been present in court when the sentence was formally imposed:
"My work was done by that point," he said. When asked the
source of the "open letter" published on January 1 by
Nkusi-Uwimana (received but not published by other local news
outlets),he said its origin was unknown. His client did not
admit to him how it came to be published in her newspaper,
whether she had written it herself, found it on the internet,
sent it along to other publications, or had actually received
it from an outside source. The Committee to Protect
Journalists on April 20 condemned her conviction for merely
"publishing a reader's letter" (the CPJ made no mention of
the December article). Despite her denial, most local
observers believe she did in fact author the January "open
letter."
4. (SBU) Comment. Agnes Nkusi-Uwimana contravened generally
accepted standards of discourse in Rwanda. The concerted
attempt by independent journalists to encourage an apology,
including Charles Kabonero of Rwanda Newsline and Umuseso,
and Jean Bosco Gasasira of Umuvugiza, each themselves the
subject of government ire from time to time, shows this
clearly. Wide-ranging criticisms of government policies are
tolerated in Rwanda; explicit ethnic attacks and genocide
denial/minimization are not. Nkusi-Uwimana, an inexperienced
journalist, reportedly ill, and chronically short of funds,
went too far.
5. (SBU) Comment continued. However, we are concerned with
the general tenor of press relations at this time. So far
this year, we have one journalist, Idesbald Byabuze,
expelled to the Congo for an ethnic attack on the Kagame
regime (reftel A),another, Agnes Nkusi-Uwimana, just
convicted of divisionism and defamation for
denying/minimizing the genocide, one more, Jean Bosco
Gasasira, subjected to a brutal physical attack by a
demobilized soldier, for unknown but suspect reasons (reftel
B),and now Bonaventure Bizumeryemyi of Umuco apparently
facing divisionism and other charges for events that
transpired some time ago, and that we understood to be no
longer the subject of official interest. We are preparing a
press release for World Press Freedom Day, to express our
hope that the gains in press freedom we recorded at the end
of 2006 (reftel D) continue this year. End comment.
ARIETTI
SIPDIS
SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM RW
SUBJECT: JOURNALIST PLEADS GUILTY TO DIVISIONISM, RECEIVES
ONE YEAR JAIL TERM
REF: A. KIGALI 289
B. KIGALI 142
C. KIGALI 49
D. 2006 KIGALI 1223
1. (SBU) On Friday, April 20, Agnes Nkusi-Uwimana, director
of the Kinyarwanda-language newspaper "Umurabyo," received a
one year jail term in a Kigali court, having on April 3
pleaded guilty to various charges including divisionism,
defamation, and passing a bad check. Nkusi had been arrested
in January for the publication of two articles, one in
December which most observers believed minimized the 1994
genocide, and another on January 1st which castigated Rwandan
officials in explicit ethnic terms, drawing charges of
divisionism. The December 2006 article essentially equated
1994 killings by the Hutu extremist Interahamwe militia with
RPA revenge killings that occurred during its liberation of
the country -- "It would be difficult to differentiate a Hutu
Interahamwe from a Tutsi Interahamwe," read one subtitle.
The January article, an open letter to the public,
categorized senior government officials in derogatory ethnic
terms, calling particular Hutu and Tutsi officials "dogs" and
"prostitutes" (reftel C).
2. (SBU) Prominent independent journalists had encouraged an
apology and retraction by Nkusi regarding her December
article. Although agreeing initially to this course of
action, she then published the January "open letter,"
resulting in her arrest. Upon advice of counsel, she
subsequently pleaded guilty to all charges against her (note:
the bad check charge stemmed from her borrowing of funds to
start her publication, and then writing bad checks when the
loans came due).
3. (SBU) Embassy staff met with Nkusi's attorney April 24 to
discuss the case. The attorney confirmed her guilty plea
upon his recommendation -- in his view she faced five years
minimum prison time, with little prospect of a successful
defense, if she had decided to try the case in court. He had
urged a one year suspended sentence, but the court imposed
one year in jail. The lawyer acknowledged that he had not
been present in court when the sentence was formally imposed:
"My work was done by that point," he said. When asked the
source of the "open letter" published on January 1 by
Nkusi-Uwimana (received but not published by other local news
outlets),he said its origin was unknown. His client did not
admit to him how it came to be published in her newspaper,
whether she had written it herself, found it on the internet,
sent it along to other publications, or had actually received
it from an outside source. The Committee to Protect
Journalists on April 20 condemned her conviction for merely
"publishing a reader's letter" (the CPJ made no mention of
the December article). Despite her denial, most local
observers believe she did in fact author the January "open
letter."
4. (SBU) Comment. Agnes Nkusi-Uwimana contravened generally
accepted standards of discourse in Rwanda. The concerted
attempt by independent journalists to encourage an apology,
including Charles Kabonero of Rwanda Newsline and Umuseso,
and Jean Bosco Gasasira of Umuvugiza, each themselves the
subject of government ire from time to time, shows this
clearly. Wide-ranging criticisms of government policies are
tolerated in Rwanda; explicit ethnic attacks and genocide
denial/minimization are not. Nkusi-Uwimana, an inexperienced
journalist, reportedly ill, and chronically short of funds,
went too far.
5. (SBU) Comment continued. However, we are concerned with
the general tenor of press relations at this time. So far
this year, we have one journalist, Idesbald Byabuze,
expelled to the Congo for an ethnic attack on the Kagame
regime (reftel A),another, Agnes Nkusi-Uwimana, just
convicted of divisionism and defamation for
denying/minimizing the genocide, one more, Jean Bosco
Gasasira, subjected to a brutal physical attack by a
demobilized soldier, for unknown but suspect reasons (reftel
B),and now Bonaventure Bizumeryemyi of Umuco apparently
facing divisionism and other charges for events that
transpired some time ago, and that we understood to be no
longer the subject of official interest. We are preparing a
press release for World Press Freedom Day, to express our
hope that the gains in press freedom we recorded at the end
of 2006 (reftel D) continue this year. End comment.
ARIETTI